Have you ever experienced a revelation before solely because of the way something was said? A revelation in the sense where you may have heard something 100 times, may have even taught on the subject, or even been trying to model it but then for some reason it clicked? Today Floyd McClung unlocked a piece of church that has had my head spinning!
Before I get to that revelation I want to share with you All Nations 3 core values.
Love the World – Mission
Share the gospel to those who don’t know Jesus
Go and make disciples
Serve and empower the poor
Love God – Worship
Experience and enjoy the Father’s love
Spend time daily in prayer and the word
Live lives pleasing to the father
Love Each Other – Community
Discipling relationships
Accountability and transparency
Love and care for each other
At All Nations currently I am in the 2nd week of our Church Planting eXperience (CPx.) If I could break down CPx into one sentence it would simply be – Sticking a syringe into “church” and removing everything you have ever know about it and you are left with biblical truth. This week All Nations has been celebrating and studying all of the different models of church. A few different examples of models would be Traditional Sunday service, Mega Church model (Bill Hybel seeker friendly), Recovery Groups model (Rick Warren), Cell Church model, House Church model, Dynamic Worship (Hillsong), and the list goes on. Which one is the best? I believe whatever one is producing fruitful disciples is most effective for that make up of people, but that is another discussion J
With all of this said my point comes to this: In the bible you will find 3 things that make up church – Mission, Community, and Worship (listed above). Not a church that has these things divided into different areas of the church, but a group of believers that all possess these 3 values make up church. It doesn’t matter age, size, style or building type as long as these 3 values are modeled.
I could discuss what church is forever, but I want to get to my revelation today about the heart of mission. After listening to Floyd I was blown away by this concept “Community is the result from God’s mission. To have community without mission is only half of God’s heart.” My entire life I have grown up thinking and believing a church (no matter what type) gathers for the purpose of community. From that community worship flows and mission is created. As humans it’s difficult sometimes to hear, but I believe that mission needs to be the driving force to a community. If mission is lacking from community, not only is that half of God’s heart, but our worship is not as full as it can be. Community without mission short circuits God’s glory, which is why we were created! I grew up believing since evangelism wasn’t my spiritual gift, “mission” was for the “missionary’s” and “pastors.” In Matthew 28 Jesus says, “Go and make disciples.” Floyd would describe discipleship as “Intentional relationship for Jesus.”
You don’t need to be an ordained Pastor, a missionary, or on cross cultural missions trip to be missional, you just need to make disciples. Those discipleship relationships can even take place within your home. My favorite author and famous Pastor Mark Batterson from DC says it well, “I want to be most famous in my home.” What a better place to start discipleship than in your home? You may not be able to erase your past, but you sure can start to create your future today. Its never too late for God to use you.
I realize some may hold different views on certain areas of church but I sincerely hope this blog has been challenging, inspiring, and thought provoking to you on your journey of what church and mission means to you!
